The end of faith

My dear friend Renzo tells me that I am not particularly tolerant of religious people. He basis that opinion on the fact that, if asked, I tend to tell members of any organized (or unorganized, but those are rare) religion that I do not see how any intelligent, educated person who uses their brain for any purpose other than regulating necessary bodily functions in this day and age could possibly believe in the existence of god. Hopefully you were able to navigate your way through that sentence. So, a while back I started reading The End of Faith by Sam Harris . Work and the fact that he was laying little too hard on the muslim world (I simphatize with the underdog, but also don't really see much difference between average muslim and average christian. If you have any doubts you might want to check out Jesus Camp that's coming out on dvd's in about a week) stood between me and the book for a few months. I've picked it up again after reading his Letter to a Christian Nation . Anyway, I am just barely into it, but I constantly wish I had his way with words. I'm sure I'll be adding things as I go through this book, but here is to Renzo:

Religious moderates are, in large part, responsible for the religious conflict in our world, because their beliefs provide the context in which scriptural literalism and religious violence can never be adequately opposed.

Oh, and Happy New Year!